Saturday, June 12, 2010

Sample Tharsis Tholus Caldera Wall


This image captures one of the cleaner portions of the interior wall of the caldera at the top of Tharsis Tholus.

Tharsis Tholus is an intermediate sized shield volcano, much smaller than giants such as Olympus Mons, but still large by terrestrial standards. While relatively dust-free, this section of the caldera wall is still extensively covered by dust that is being sculpted into curious shapes by the wind and by gravity.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Note: I love this photo in that it reminds me of your typical snow-covered mountain photo and, yet, there is no snow in this picture; it's all dust. Just another reminder of the alienness of Mars.

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